Hockey News' own Nostradamus

STU COWAN, GAZETTE SPORTS EDITOR12.03.2011

Joe Pavelski #8 of the San Jose Sharks scores the winning goal in an overtime shootout against Carey Price #31 of the Montreal Canadiens at HP Pavilion at San Jose on December 1, 2011 in San Jose, California.(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Canadiens' Carey Price takes out frustration on his stick after 4-3 loss to Penguins on Saturday.JOHN KENNEY THE GAZETTE
/ The Gazette

Before the start of the National Hockey League season, I was listening to Montreal sports-talk radio as Canadiens fans – and some media members – were dumping on Adam Proteau, a writer for The Hockey News.

Proteau’s sin?

In his pre-season predictions for the magazine, he picked the Toronto Maple Leafs to make the playoffs as the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference, with the Canadiens missing the postseason at No. 9.

Proteau was called a Toronto homer – and worse – while some Montreal fans (and media members) were predicting the Canadiens would finish first in the Northeast Division and take one of the top three playoff seeds.

Well, as the Canadiens prepare to face the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday afternoon, they are in last place in the Northeast Division with a 10-11-5 record and out of a playoff spot. The Maple Leafs, who are in Boston Saturday night, are in second place in the Northeast with a 14-9-2 record, one point behind the Bruins.

Last season, it took 93 points to make the playoffs in the Eastern Conference. The Canadiens will need 68 points in their final 56 games to reach that total.

I decided to give Proteau a call this week to follow up on his pre-season predictions and the response in Montreal.

“I had to block a few people on Twitter, for sure,” he said from Toronto with a laugh. “There were some overzealous folks, but that’s par for the course.

“I didn’t think the Habs were going to be at the bottom of the standings, by any stretch, but I thought they would be in the mix with the Leafs for one of those last two or three playoff berths, and I think that will play out.”

What didn’t Proteau like about the Canadiens?

“I didn’t see the offence there,” he said. “I didn’t see the depth to handle some injuries the way you expect all teams to go through injuries.

“I felt I was taking a bit of a risk to put the Leafs in the playoffs, given that not too many other people did,” he added. “But I saw the way they played last year and I talked to people around the league who felt that (centre Tim) Connolly, if he was healthy, would be what Marc Savard was for (Phil) Kessel in Boston.

“Have you ever heard the old joke about how I’ve never dated a 10, but I’ve dated five 2s?” Proteau asked. “To me, that’s what the Leafs are. They don’t have too many 10s, but they have much more 6s and 7s in their lineup. And (Joffrey) Lupul has been a surprise … I don’t think anybody predicted that, myself included.”

Mocking the Maple Leafs, who haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1967, has become a tradition in Montreal, and the Leafs have been an easy target for a long time (remember the John Kordic for Russ Courtnall trade?). But this season fans in Toronto have had much more to cheer than fans in Montreal, who are now suffering their own 18-year Stanley Cup drought in a city that used to take the “usual route” for Cup parades, but is now known for rioting after a first-round playoff win.

Whether you love the Leafs or you hate them, you have to admit they have been entertaining to watch this season – especially when compared with the Canadiens. That was never more obvious than Wednesday night, when the Leafs and Canadiens were on TV back-to-back.

The Leafs lost 6-3 to the Bruins in a fast-paced game that produced 77 shots, including 37 by the Leafs, who had 13 in the third period. That was followed by the Canadiens losing 4-1 to the Anaheim Ducks in a game that saw only 47 shots. The Canadiens had 20 shots – only three of them in the third period.

Zzzzzzzzzzzz.

“I hate to rail on (Canadiens coach) Jacques Martin as much as I do, but that’s the hallmark of Jacques Martin teams, right?” Proteau said. “He’d rather be safe than sorry, and I think the one thing you have to give the Leafs credit for is (general manager) Brian Burke has been quite upfront saying, ‘We’re responsible to the ticket-holders, we’re trying to sell an entertainment package and we’re not going to play the 1-3-1, we’re not going to junk it up, we’re going to be a fast-skating team and a physical team.’”

Burke and Canadiens GM Pierre Gauthier – who has earned the nickname “The Ghost” – couldn’t be more different. While the Canadiens often operate like a secret society when it comes to providing information to the media and fans who are paying a top price of $405 a ticket for “optimum games” Burke has embraced social media with his own Twitter account (@LeafsBB20). After the Ducks fired coach Randy Carlye Wednesday night, Burke tweeted: “Sad to hear about Randy Carlyle. But our coach isn’t going anywhere!”

“I love Brian Burke to deal with as a media person,” Proteau said. “I don’t agree with every move that he’s made or the way he gets chippy with some members of the media, but he understands the media beast. He comes out with analogies that are not these garden-variety clichés. He actually gives you something fantastic every single time that will delight the media members to the point where they probably aren’t as nasty with him as they would be otherwise, having gone this long and not made the playoffs.”

Proteau is sticking to his pre-season playoff prediction, but isn’t expecting a Stanley Cup parade in Toronto.

“You have to take the long view if you’re a Leafs fan in this market,” he said. “That’s been the problem in the past ... too many quick fixes.

“There’s that terrible cliché that I think is factually false, that all we need is to get in the playoffs and anything can happen,” Proteau added. “Well, anything really can’t happen. The Oilers and Flyers, I think, are the only two No. 8 seeds to make it to the (Stanley Cup) final since the lockout. In terms of just getting there, though, I do think the Leafs are a better team (than the Canadiens).”

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